That Girl
by Mi-Chan Meow
Summary: A love story of RinxLen, smiles and tears in between In the point of view of Len.
1. That Girl Chapter 1

That Girl

(An original story by Mi)

All characters belong to Crypton.

Enjoy the story!

Rin, that girl who sits in the corner of the class. She is, by everyone's definition, the most average girl you can come by. She gets decent grades, makes her own lunch, not on any teams or clubs, and barely says a word to anyone.

But… that glistening blond hair and milky skin has drowned me completely. She's different than any girl here. She doesn't suffocate her hair with dyes and sprays. It's practical, but still cute. She doesn't powder or paint her face.

And her eyes…

Blue eyes. Cliché to the T.

But I don't care. She's perfect. She's everything. She's different

And I love her.

"Len~ Why don't you join the soccer team this year?" A high pitched voice traces back to a tall blond girl who ties her hair in a side ponytail. Of course, its not natural, its bleached like crazy. The exact opposite of Rin. The one who is humorously named—

"NERU!" my thoughts are killed by an even more high pitched voice. Except this one is coming from a girl with teal hair who fashions pigtails.

"Why are you always pestering Len with odd offers everyday, just to talk to him? Don't you have anything to talk about so you can have a REAL conversation!"

As painted and polished Miku is, I'm glad she's there to save me. She's been my friend since primary school. Oh, but don't get me wrong— she's no where near a love candidate. She would probably sneer at you if you popped the idea out and call it incest since she enjoys pretending to be my older sister (which suits her quite well)

"Behh~ Your no fun Miku-cha~n! Don't be so jealous because Lenny is about to fall for me! Your such a meanie~" Neru whines. She turns around with a quick swip of her hair and cocks her head in my direction. "Maybe next time you can come over to play~ 'kay, Lenny~?" And then she winks like a punch to a face, walking off like she really is my girlfriend.

Rin, please don't tell me you saw that! Don't get the wrong idea…!

I look over to her desk, hoping that her head was buried in a book. Instead, I stare at an empty desk.

"…?" She's never absent! Never! Not the whole time she's been in Junior High has she never not been at school!

Miku's innocent face comes to view, her head slightly turned to one side. "Eh? Rin-chan isn't here today…" She looks at me for a couple of seconds, until her innocent face turns into a devilish smirk. "You disappointed about that Len-kun?"

I jerk backwards into my seat. "Wh-what! I mean… n-no its just that she's never absent…" my cheeks are already burning.

"And you would notice that about her, wouldn't you?" Miku's oddly shaped smile starts to make me nervous.

"Well I d-don't know… sure… I just notice stuff like that… and… well…" My breath is getting short and its getting hard say much more…

Miku's smile softens and she puts her hand over my head. "Len, your so cute when your in love!"

That's it— my face is exploded with different shades of red, and now I'm fully slumped back into my chair, about to fall off. My hopes of containing this love to only me have died, and now I'm wondering how many other people know. Or if she knows. God, I hope she doesn't know…!

After a few minutes of recovery, I'm able to function again. "So… is it obvious or… erm…"

"Heehee~" she giggled. Why is it that I'm scared by that? "No, not really. Well, more like no one knows who she is anyway, so I'm sure I'm the only one who knows." She steps towards me, grabbing me by the shoulders and lifting me up to a proper posture.

"Len, if you really like her, you should talk to her."

I pause for a bit. Well, DUH! Can't you see that I've figured that out, but brooding over the fact I'm too shy!

"Yeah but there's never anytime and I think I would be a bother oh and of course she would want alone time and also—"

"Pfft!" Miku squeaks. "What a bad line of excuses." Crap. I know she's right. The bell rings and while Miku turns to the side of my desk and walks towards hers. She pauses for a quick second and turns her head towards me. "At least eat lunch with her! She's always alone!"

And with her 2 bundles of hair, she whips backwards and runs to her seat.

"Okay, lets get started on some math now!" A middle-aged women walks into the room.

The next lesson is full of numbers and word problems that translate to me as a completely different language. At least, it's either that or the fact that I've been staring at an empty desk in the corner of the room for the past half hour.

I'm actually thinking about eating lunch with her. I could pretend that I lost my way and just didn't really know where to sit… wait no. I would come across stupid; who forgets there way at a school they've been going to for almost 3 years? Or I could just say I wanted fresh air and that I wanted to sit here… if she even sits outside. Where does she sit, anyway? Maybe Miku knows… but… why does it matter anyway, I guess? She's not even here!

"…" My head is filled with a tornado of thoughts, none of which are containing math.

"Len?"

"…?" Huh? The teacher called my name. C-crap!

"Len!" Her voice raises.

"Er…. Erm… y-yes!"

"The question, Len?" Her face turns into a frozen glare.

"Well, if you d-drop the one and carry over the…"

A knocking sound cuts off my … whatever I was saying… and the teacher's attention is set on the door. A small frail voice comes behind it…

"Erm… s-sorry for my tardiness! P-please excuse me; May I come in?"

That sweet voice; it has to be Rin!

"Huh? Why so polite? Your never late or do anything wrong, so its fine. Don't worry, but… just come in…" The teacher seems surprise to see Rin actually speak. I wonder if anyone besides me heard her voice before…

I watch Rin push the door open and scurry over to her seat. Ah, what a relief seeing that golden hair bounce as she sits down in her usual spot in the corner. But now I won't have an excuse not to eat lunch with her… Miku's scary face comes to mind and sends a chill down my back.

The next couple of hours are filled with a boring history lesson, and after the first 10 minutes, I'm already tuned out and in my own world. Contemplating how I can get out of the Miku situation; like maybe pretending to be sick and going home early… or maybe say that Neru dragged me with her and eat with her…

Ugh. Neru.

_Ring~! Ring~!_

The bell already!

"Eh?" The teacher pauses for a moment to stare at the clock. "Ah, I guess time slipped away from me. Okay, don't forget that outline. Your dismissed."

I look at Neru. There's no way I'm going to eat with her. And what if Rin sees? She'll definitely get the wrong idea. I turn my head towards Miku. She gives me a face like a punch to the face— more like one of Neru's seductive winks— that screams _"Here's your chance! Go eat with her or I'll kill you! _

Guess I have no choice.

Miku stands up and starts walking out the door. I start to fallow. Wait… that's right. I don't know where she eats!

Where's Miku…? Crap, I've lost her. I spend the next 30 minutes scanning all the classrooms and courtyards. Why is the school so big! After 10 more minutes, I'm relieved with the sign of two gigantic hords of teal hair. Miku!

I run to her, trying my best catch up with her. "W-wait!" Miku turns around. "Huh, what are you doing? Your supposed to be eating with—"

"SHH! I don't want anyone to know!" Ugh, why are you doing this Miku! "I need to know where she eats. Do you know?"

Miku walks to me. "Heehee~" she smiles. "Len, you seriously need to watch more dramas or shoujo or something, it's quite obvious where a shy sweet girl like Rin-Chan would go?"

My face is puzzled. What is with this woman! I'm in a rush! There's only 15 or so minutes left of Lunch!

Miku rolls her eyes, unamused. "Gosh, your really slow Len-Kun." She leans in and whispers to me. "Think lonely and secluded."

It takes me no where near a second to realize she meant the rooftop. The rooftop! Duh! I guess it was pretty obvious. I take of running. Here I am at the farthest and lowest end of the school, and now I have to run back to the building and scale the stairs?

But of course, I don't care. All I can't think is _run, run run! _Across hills and fields of grass. I must of bumped into 4 people, one of them unfortunately being Neru.

"HEY!" She squeals.

"S-sorry not now I have to be somewhere!"

Once I finally reach the school building, I'm running those stairs like crazy. I'm surprise I haven't tripped or fallen yet.

Running the last flight of those stairs, I feel like passing out. But seeing the door to the roof keeps me going. When I approach the door, I swing it open with my last bit of strength.

And there she is, sitting on a mat eating her lunch all by herself. Startled by me, her big blue eyes are wide, looking strait at mine.

That girl, who sits in the corner of the class, the girl with glistening blond hair and milky skin and tears falling from her blue eyes, which are set on me, is 3 feet away.

She's 3 feet away with tears in her eyes.

Please look forward to the next chapter of 3! The next one will feature what happens at the rooftop. I appreciate in advance all reviews and views in general.

Thank-you for reading!

-Mi


	2. That Girl Chapter 2

3 feet away…

I should feel happy. No, not even that— thrilled, excited, blissful. But those drops of crystals streaming from her eyes start to make me sad to.

She's not saying anything. She's frozen, staring right into my eyes. Why am I waiting for her to do something? That's right, its me who should be doing something. After all, I am the one who barged in here.

"Um…"

Breathe Len, breathe! Get your words out!

"I wanted to eat somewhere quiet and nice… so I came here… but…" Okay, Okay, what else? How come I can't start a conversation like usual?

I look over to her to see her response. She rubs her eyes with the trim of her sleeve, but I can see even more tears falling. "I guess I should get out of your way then"

Between sniffs and more tears she gathers up her mat and lunch in a bundle of messes, dropping things as she go. Wait… she's leaving? No! She must think I'm mad at her or wanted her to leave or… well, whatever I made her feel like, its not good, and the only reason why I ran across school and went to the rooftop, is slipping away from me right now.

All these things have me unbalanced and make more confused. All I know for sure, is that I want her to stay.

Her short blonde hair is bouncing as she starts to run away, with bits of her left over lunch falling as she tries to leave. Before I know it, the small fragile hand that's about to open the door to leave is now surrounded by mine.

I know I took her by surprise, and I think I'm taking my self by surprise too.

"I…"

Yes! A word! Please, keep your head up Len! I move my face up. I'm almost to embarrassed to look at her directly, but I do. And when I see those eyes…

"I lied" I straiten up and ease the tight grip I had over her hand. Her hands are so small and delicate like glass…

"I wanted to see you. It took awhile, but I finally found out where you were." I manage a smile. "I haven't eaten yet, so is it okay if I eat with you?" I let go of her hand, and try to smile more, hoping she isn't frightened anymore.

"Eh…" Her voice is so small. She doesn't seem as sad or startled as before, either.

I look over to the right and see her half eaten bento on the floor, along with her matt rolled in a clump. I start picking them up and throwing stuff away, trying to be as much as a gentlemen as I could. After a minute or two, I spread out the matt and crease it flat. Its actually pretty big, enough for two, maybe three people.

I look back at her. She looks the same. Poised, eyes wide, she's standing there. So quiet…

"Heh, sorry about your lunch. I always bring too much, so you can have of mine. " I smile as much as I can. Please give me a chance, Rin, I'm not as creepy or weird as you think!

She takes a step forward. She looks so hesitant, like she's approaching some exotic animal or something. But she keeps walking, and sits on the open space of the matt, next to me. She looks down at her empty bento.

I look at her. She's not crying anymore, but there's still a silver tear streaming down her cheek. I guess I shouldn't ask why she was sitting alone crying in the first place, but I want to make her feel better somehow. I move the tip of my thumb and wipe it away.

"The view is really great here, it must be nice to eat here!"

Seconds pass by, each making me more nervous. What else do I say? Am I being a nuisance? Does she really hate me? Maybe I should—

"Y-yeah…" she says so faintly I could barely hear.

She turns her face right at me, and with the warmest smile I've ever seen…

"It's really nice!"

I've only seen it in Miku's animes… but I guess it really does happen in real life. All other surroundings are blurred out into warm pastel colors, and the person you love most becomes clearer and bright. I feel warm… inside… and … EH! My face! Its super red! I must look so uncool right now… keep it together Len!

"Uh…" I take a deep breath. What should I say… uh… food! That's right! I lift the top of my bento. I'm so glad Miku made me extra lunch today! "Here, you can have whatever you want!"

She looks at it; either in awe, or just confused. "The gyoza looks so perfect! Are you sure its okay if I have some?"

"Heh! Of course! I never finish anyway."

She grabs it with her chopsticks as soon as I'm done speaking. After a few moments watching her chew it, pauses and looks upwards, as if she's judging.

"So good!" She smiles and laughs. I laugh too. She's so cute!

Then next 10 minutes involves us eating and talking about regular school things. Turns out, I was wrong. She is in an afterschool club; well, sort of. She's in afterschool painting club… which was disbanded 2 years ago. She joined when she first entered this school, along with 3 other students she befriended. Unfortunately, they all graduated that year. So now it's just her.

I talked about how Miku always takes care of me like a big-sister, and protecting me from unwanted dangers (like Neru). She keeps laughing at my jokes, even if when they're lame. But her laugh is so sincere… eh, ah— well anyway, even though she is shy and speaks faintly, she's clueless on some things. She's cute and innocent, just like that. And I didn't realize how easy it is to talk with her, even after 10 minutes. I'm so lucky she didn't run away—

_Ring~ Ring~_

"10 minutes passed already?" Guess good things really don't last… I look at Rin's face. She… she looks disappointed too! M-maybe she actually had a good time with me…?

"Ah, it looks that way. We better get to P.E., then." She smiles and folds the matt, packs up her bento, and starts to walk off.

And… does it end just like that? I've met my dream girl; I always thought I would be satisfied with that. But… I want those good times…those 10 minutes… to… to…! "W-wait!"

She turns around, puzzled. "I…Uh…um…"

I breath in, once again, struggling to finish my sentence.

"I'll see you tomorrow, here, again…?"

She stars at me for a bit. Her cheeks start to turn a rosy red too… I can hardly hold myself together.

She smiles though.

"Yes!"

I want those good times to continue.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Tomorrow, the day where I get a full hour with Rin. Tomorrow, I get to spend time with that girl who no one knows or cares about. Tomorrow, I get to see the girl I love.

I'm yawning on my way to class. I couldn't sleep at all! I was either too happy or too nervous. I don't know. Maybe both? Whatever it is, I'm excited. I can't wait til' lunch.

The next 2 hours prove to me how much I can't wait until lunch. Its like the teacher new, too. She called on me at least 4 times at math. History was a drag too. We were put into groups, and I was hoping I would be with Rin and Miku, so that I could introduce them to each other.

But, obviously I ticked off someone somewhere, because I'm paired up with Neru and some weird guy named Kaito. He's okay, I guess. But Rin's group was so far away… I can barely see her.

I must of fallen asleep somewhere between Neru blowing a kiss at me and Kaito talking about this weird ice-cream flavor he found.

She's so sweet… the last 10 minutes of lunch from yesterday is replayed, over and over. Her small, delicate voice is so pure and clear in my mind…

"L-Len?"

Huh? Splotchy patches of black start fizzing away from my mind, replaced by a blurry figure. I blink 4 or 5 times to wake my self up.

The world starts fizzing back into focus, and I see a white concerned face peering over me.

"Um… the Lunch bell rang, Len-kun…"

Nothing more than that needs to wake me up. I'm standing strait up and my eyes are wide open.

"Wh-what? Wait… Lunch can't be over! Hold on this can't—"

"Relax, Len. She only meant it just rang. You'll get your time alone with her~" Miku calmly cuts me off with a mile wide smirk across her face.

"Oh..." I turn my face towards a surprised Rin, standing nervous and surprised.

"Guess I over reacted…" I smile, and laugh a bit. She smiles too.

I guess laughing makes her feel more comfortable. I'm glad, too, that she won't feel nervous around me 100% of the time.

"Come on! I want you to try Miku's special chicken katsu!" Rin lets out a sweet, peaceful giggle. And off to the rooftop we go…

Calm, nice, relaxing. That's how lunch is going right now. It's almost sereal, sitting next to her. Talking with her. Being with her.

I look over at my watch. "Ah, only 15 minutes left. I'll help you clean up a bit…"

"W-wait!" She says, louder than I've ever heard her speak.

I look over at her with a bit of a puzzled look.

"Um… well… you're the only person I've actually talked to in awhile… and I wanted to ask you…" she pauses for a moment.

"Something…" she says, in a fainter voice.

I try my best to keep my cool. I swear I'm going to faint! But I'm able to manage another smile in another awkward situation.

"Anything!" I say, trying to make her feel less antsy.

She takes a deep breath. "Ple…" she trails off so quietly that I can't understand her.

"I'm, sorry I didn't hear." I step closer and lean in a bit…

"Uh Plea…" She makes more of an effort, but I still can't understand her.

I don't want to rush her. It's okay, Rin! Take your time! I will always be patient, if its you. "Um, Please repeat it, I'm sorry I didn't quiet understa—"

"Please continue to be my friend!" she's bowing in front of me. She definitely broke her last record of speaking as loud as she just did.

"Of course—"

"Please continue to eat lunch with me, please continue to speak with me, please continue to talk with me!" she says, cutting me off.

The passion from her words that pierce me tell me that I must be really important to her. Or more like, she's never had a friend this close. Like she's a puppy who's owner had abandoned her on a street in the rain, and I had just found her.

The good in me, starts making my heart take control of all my actions. I'm bend over a bit, so that I'm at her height. Her embarrassed face is not too far from mine.

_Good job, Rin_ I think inside. _It must of taken a lot of courage to say that._

I extend my hand out to hers, then clench all my fingers except my pinkie.

"I promise." I say, as calm and warm as I can. She lifts up her head. Her blue eyes are so cloudy, she's about to cry.

But she doesn't. She only smiles, and blushes a little. She probably thinks I'm silly, to propose to seal the deal on a pinkie promise.

But it's okay.

Because when she wraps her pinkie around mine, and says "I promise!" in her small, pure, angelic voice, I know it's okay.


	3. That Girl Chapter 3

And the next few months becomes just that. I continue to eat lunch with her, speak to her, talk with her, more and more. It's whole foundation being the promise.

"It did definitely bind us…" Rin says, in the warm, heat haze of the day. It's a couple weeks before summer vacation now. 2 months since the promise… which, I'm wondering, if Rin is referring to right now.

_Right now…_ I think. _Right now, on the rooftop. At lunch. With… her._

Even after 2 months, I still can't believe I'm with her. Alone.

I look at her with a warm smile. "Your talking about the promise, right?"

"Hu-huh!" She perks up and turns red. Guess I startled her… I can't help but to smirk. _Rin, why are you so cute!_

But, like always, she smiles shyly and looks a little to the side. "I… I guess I didn't realize I was talking aloud… but um… yes. I was referring to the pinkie promise."

She starts to smile a bit more, and her cheeks turn a bit more rosy. "I'm… I'm really glad… you know? I'm just so happy that I have someone to talk to… someone so nice…"

I can't help but smile myself. "Me too. You're a really kind hearted girl, you know that?"

She giggles, and smiles back.

I start thinking about all the happy memories made up here. It… warms me up. It always makes me smile.

But one memory disturbs me a bit.

When I first came, she was… she was crying. Crying alone. I still don't know why. I didn't bother to ask before, since it wasn't my place to do so… but now… I wonder if the situation has changed. I wonder if it's okay to ask…

"R-Rin…?" I begin talking, but I feel apprehensiveness slipping of my tongue along with my words. I really hope I'm making the right move…

"Yes?" she says, turning her face to me. _Good,_ I think. _She's not nervous or anything. Maybe now would be a good time to ask…_

I take a deep breath, straitening the jumble of words in my head into a logical sentence.

"That… that day…when I first came here…"

I pause for a bit. What happened to that logical sentence!

"Yes, I remember. You ran up all the way up the stairs!" She teases.

Her cute, innocent humor relaxes me a bit.

"When I first came to the rooftop… you were crying…"

She looks down at the mat. "Uh-huh…" Her voice gets softer. I could barely hear her…

"Well… your promise… our promise… was to continue to be friends… right?" I smile a bit. I don't want her to feel uncomfortable.

"Yes." She looks back up at me. She tries her best to keep a smile. But when I stare into her eyes… they look blank.

_I'm sorry Rin… Thank you for trying your best! Bare with me!_

"Well… friends care about each other. So I care for you a whole lot Rin."

I smile, she smiles a bit too.

"So… you, uh, don't have to tell me if you don't feel comfortable to, but… I wanted to know why…" I take another deep breath. "I wanted to know why your were crying that day, Rin."

Time is frozen, now.

She's staring at me, but I feel like she's somewhere else. At least, not here. She's just sitting there. With no response. Her solemn, lifeless eyes, staring at mine.

A cool breeze lightly blows, cutting through the warm air.

"Um…" she says, faintly.

Life returns to her eyes again. But now she's trembling.

"Uh…" she says again, even lighter than before.

Instinct.

That's the most powerful thing Rin has over me. Maybe not instinct, maybe impulsiveness… I don't know.

But once I see a droplet of shiny water forming from the corner of her eye, I have my arms wrapped around her, tight, before that tear can fall.

"It's okay… you don't have to tell me. It's okay…" I say. She hugs back, almost as tight as I'm holding her.

I feel like I could die.

Not because of happiness, but because I feel so… fulfilled.

All I ever wanted to do for Rin, is to comfort her. To be there for her. To tell her, "It's okay."

To be honest, I don't know how long I've been holding her. It could be hours, and school is over. It could just be a couple of seconds. I don't know.

But I don't want it to end. That's all I know.

Well… and that… maybe… she may feel the same way.

"I…I'm sorry…" a small whisper blows into my ear, melting all other thoughts.

I smile. "It's okay. Don't worry about—"

"no." She cuts off. "That's not… that's not what I mean…. It's just…"

I can't tell whether its my imagination or not, but I feel her hand gripping me tight.

"Not the right time. I promise, I'll tell you. Soon, too. Just not… just not now."

She releases from the hug, and sits down, in her usual position. Her face is red, whether it be from embarrassment or her tears.

I could hear her breath in faintly.

"So…" she trails off. She slowly stands up, and looks at me with her watery blue eyes.

"Please just wait for me until then!" she runs off like the words that slid from her mouth.

And then there was one…

I sit there, dazed and confused.

But… happy. I close my eyes. _I'll wait for you, Rin._

.

.

.

.

.

"Uwaa Len! You are so adorable when you sleep!" an obnoxious shriek wails from the left side of my ear.

That's how mornings usually start. I somehow drag myself out of bed and get ready for school, take the bus, arrive, then sit at my desk and get and make-up as much of sleep I can. Although my nights aren't completely wide-eyed, I still can't shake the conversations I have with Rin out of my head.

I dote on them for many hours until I'm able to fall asleep, which is about 2 hours before I get up in the morning.

Then either a slap from Miku, a poke from Luka (the class representative), or an awkward calling from Neru. Occasionally Miku makes Rin try to wake me up, which probably works most effectively. I was hoping it would be her today… but…

I know from the deepest darkest part of my heart, that the person standing on the left side of me is Neru.

I slowly put my self into a somewhat proper position.

"Neru… why…" Ugh. I'm still have asleep. This could very well be a dream, I don't know.

Neru gasps like the way they do in those sappy Korean dramas. "Oh Len, are… are you about to confess?" She prances around the room, making a weird chipmunk sound along the way.

"Oh, I knew this day would come! Len, don't be shy! You may like the answer! Continue, continue!"

Might as well have some fun, I guess.

"Neru… I…" I continue, still with a groggy tone.

"Y-yes?" She's about 5 feet too close to what I would like Neru to be from my face.

"Can…"

"YES!" she squeals.

"Could you please move. Your in my way." I say in a flat tone. It takes all my willpower not to laugh in her face.

"WHAT~?" she whines. She walks around the room in a weird pattern.

I can't help but laugh a little. Neru-Chan is really something!

I look over at Rin's desk.

No one is sitting there.

_Maybe she's late again?_ I hope, at least.

_Ring~!_

_Ring~!_

Guess that doesn't help it.

I let out a long sigh. _She could of fallen sick…_

Those words send a chill of worry through me.

_Maybe she just doesn't want to see me…?_ I don't know.

"Okay, Lesson 5 of your math book please! Let's get as much work as we can today, got it?" I hear the teacher say some more on the lesson, but I feel to captivated in my own thoughts to pay attention.

Class is normal. I guess… I don't see why it wouldn't be. Maybe because she's not here?

I'll get in trouble if I keep distracting myself like this.

"Guess I'll found out tomorrow…" I murmur to myself.

_Ring~!_

_Ring~!_

Finally! The last 2 hours wear killing me! But… I wonder what I'll do for lunch. I don't want to go to the rooftop alone, today…

"Len," I look up to see a concerned, pale, face with strands of teal hair tangling over her forehead.

"Yeah?"

"Rin-chan isn't here today." She says, with a bit of worry in her tone. Thanks for pointing that out, Miku. It's not like I've been thinking about that for the past 3 hours!

"Yeah…" I say, already bored with this conversation.

"Why don't you eat with me and the others? You haven't talked to them in awhile." Maybe there's a reason why I don't want to see creepy ice-cream lover Kaito, stupid flirty Gakupo, uptight Luka… and oh god, not Neru. Just… no.

But I don't want to eat alone either… and I guess Luka isn't so bad if you choose to say the right things, and Gumi is pretty nice. And Miku can protect me from Neru…

"Sure, I'd like that." I fallow her out to the Café.

_It's okay,_ I try to reassure myself. _You can eat with Rin tomorrow and get the full story._

The next morning brings even more worry. _She's not here again!_ My head screams with questioning thoughts.

I look up at the clock to see that its just seconds away from ringing. I sigh. _I've been sighing a lot lately, haven't I?_ I tease myself. Rin…! Why aren't you here? "…"

_Ring~!_

_Ring~!_

Simultaneously the bell rings and a dashing blur of golden hair dashes by.

A mix of shock and relief flows and overlaps any other feelings I had moments before. I smile, though. _At least this gives me a chance to ask what happened yesterday._ I think with joy. _And to see her altogether._ The day just got better.

"Nice timing!" I holler out to her.

She turns around, recognizing my teasing tone, and smiles at me.

Those clear, bright, blue eyes, beaming face, angelic smile… she's so perfect.

But while looking at her facial expression, I notice a bandage over her right cheek.

She turns away, and already taking notes on whatever the teacher is saying. But I squint hard to see the bandage. It's… pretty big. It's not like a small band-aid either, it looks like a medical bandage, white with securing tape over it.

_Maybe she fell or something?_ That question and a million other float inside my head.

It would explain why she wasn't here yesterday. But… I'll ask just in case at lunch.

I sigh, again, but this time, out of relief. _I'm just glad she's back_. And with that concluding thought, for once, I'm able to focus on my studies without distraction.

Or at least I thought. 2 hours into the lesson, I'm now dealing with the heavy weights over my eyes. I was up last night wondering why she was absent. _Ugh…_

I stick it out for another hour, but the whole time I feel like I'm going in and out of reality…

_Ring~!_

_Ring~!_

That sound is the second most relieving thing I've heard. Of course Rin's voice is first.

I gather my single notebook and but it in my bag. I walk over to Rin's desk, to see she's still putting together the thousands of scattered papers.

I smile. "Of course you would take hundreds of pages for notes." I tease her. She looks up at me, half blushing. "Heh, compared to you who dazes out the whole lesson, I'm sure I have more notes than you!" she teases back, trying her hardest to make a mad face.

We both laugh. _So cute…_ I think.

"So you were staring at me the whole time, huh?" I joke again.

"Eh…EH!" she looks so surprised. _Maybe too far…?_

"Of…of course not! I mean I just happened to see you a second you looked confused it was just a joke it's not like I would stare at you for hours on end that would be creepy oh wait am I creepy I'm sorry I meant—"

"Relax." I smile reassuringly. But when I look back at her she still looks shocked and embarrassed. _oops…_ I feel guilty now.

An awkward pause fallows…

"uh…" I begin. This is too painful! "Uh… I'm hungry!" I say with a nervous tone.

"Let's hurry up and get to the rooftop so we can eat!" I look back at her face again, waiting for her response.

"…okay." She says, fallowing me out the door and to the rooftop…

We arrive a bit later than usual, but not much changes. We set out the same mat, open our bento, eat, talk—the usual. But it's not until the last 20 minutes that I remember all the things I wanted to ask…

I finish chewing a bit of tempura and swallow before I start. "So…" I begin.

"Yes?"

"What happened yesterday?" I ask, casually.

"What do you mean?" She tilts her head a bit to the left, puzzled.

"…You were absent." How does she not know what I mean?

"…Oh. That." That's not an answer Rin. Now I'm worried.

"Why were you absent?" I don't know if I'm impatient now, but I think it would be best to be as blunt and honest as I can.

"We're friends, so I was worried." I confess.

"Not really anything, Um…I studied too late and caught a cold…" She trails off. Sounds convincing enough, I guess. But when I look at her face… it's like she's not… like she's not telling me something.

And she's not. I know it.

"Rin… friends have this thing where…" I start explaining. "Where they can tell when the other person is sad or if something's up with them." I finish off.

"Yeah…" she says, trying to brush it off as if my sentence was unrelated to her. But she knows it was directed at her completely.

She's not listening or making eye contact at all, either!

I put my hand on her wrist out of impulse, which makes her turn to me out of shock.

"Hey! What are you…" she tries to say.

"Friends also know when other friends are lying." I say. I don't know how I look like, but I think I must look so serious it might be frightening.

She jerks her hand out of my grasp and stands up.

"What are you trying to say, Len!" She yells.

I stand up, out of anger too. "Your lying Rin!" I yell back.

She clenches her teeth and I can see tears form. I feel bad… but… this isn't fair to me either! I'm worried Rin, can't you see!

"What the heck are you talking about! Why are you being like this!" Now tears are streaming down her face.

"I thought we were friends!" she says, running to the exit of the rooftop. She yanks open the door and ready to scale down the stairs, but I grab her arm before she does.

"This is serious, Rin! I'm worried for you! Tell me the truth!" I say, trying to be more calm.

"Why do you think I'm lying, anyway? Friends are supposed to trust each other, Len!" She yells even louder, from sadness and anger. Her frail body tries to squirm out of my grip, but I'm not letting her go until I understand what happened!

"Then why do you have," I point a finger to the covered wound, "a large white bandage covering half your face!"

"Don't touch it!" She screams at the top of her lungs. At the end of her sentence she elbows me, and it's a blur of spinning.

But I see her foot about to give away under a stair step. "Rin!" I yell, yanking her the opposite direction.

But at the same time, I loose my balance, and now both of my feet are flailing in mid air… and I'm flying backwards.

All I see are old metal steps, each scaling one another, creating a flight of stairs. One, two, three, five, seven, more and more fly by.

But the only thing I really notice, is a girl, with creamy skin, golden hair, shiny eyes with it's blue pigment bleeding into tears all over her face, yelling. "LEN!"

Then there was impact.


	4. That Girl Chapter 4

'That Girl' has been canceled. This account will no longer be used either. Thank-you for your support.


	5. Final Word

Looking back on my writing progression, I see it's getting worse. I thought publicly posting my writing would help me, but I think I'm getting to much into the story rather than the writing, and it feels rushed. All in all, I intentionally wanted to join this site to improve my writing, and to improve my writing only, but it is not turning out this way.

Although I would love to do something fun like this (even if it's not helping my writing) I don't have time for a leisure activity. I'm really sorry. Really, I am. But I'm 13 and I don't only write; I'm already working on my career of digital art, and I'm about to open an online shop. Not only that, but I'm composing too. There's a lot on my plate now, not to mention regular teen stuff (y'guys know, school, friends, family, cleaning your room every time your asian dad says theres a book out of place ; ) )

So, be cool. I'm sure you'll all get busy like me, alright? You guys continue to write. Do what you love. Let me do what I love.

I had a good run. Thank-you for the support.


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